7 Other Places You’ve Heard Tom Kenny, The Voice Of Spongebob

Death – Family Guy

One of three noted voice actors to play Death, Tom Kenny joins Norm MacDonald and Adam Carolla in the rotation. Strangely (and perhaps in a testament to Kenny’s voice acting chops) this is the one iteration of Death that I can’t recall offhand. As we’re demonstrating, Tom Kenny has a real knack for taking voice roles and making them his own with no one the wiser. Of course, I’m not going to complain that he doesn’t sound like Norm MacDonald, whose shtick gets old pretty fast. Carolla less so, but I’ll still take Kenny, thanks.

Various – Mr. Show

Before he went on to an extremely lucrative voice acting career, Tom Kenny cut his teeth on the seminal Mr. Show with Bob and David. Featured somewhat less than Janeane Garofalo, but more than Brian Posehn, Kenny played characters that looked like exactly what he was – a mid-90’s improv guy with really weird taste in clothes. And to be called out on your fashion sense on Mr. Show, you’ve really gotta do something special, so kudos to Tom Kenny and his blousy shirts and way-too-baggy khaki’s. You have no idea that those weird outfits were a tiny part of comedy history.

Persky – Just Shoot Me

On Just Shoot Me, it would appear that Tom Kenny simply played an extension of his goofy self. In fact, it would appear that in almost every role, voice acting or otherwise, Tom Kenny plays an extension of his goofy self. While the man may be a whiz with the voices, when it comes to acting, he plays to type. Kenny had a recurring role as Persky, the office loser.

This role differs from many of the others listed here as it is not on the edge of cult fame and wasn’t really enjoyed by anyone ever because it was on Just Shoot Me. Oh well. They can’t all be winners.